Jakrapob and Co threaten centuries of tradition

When I read your editorial for the first time I assumed that it was simply a critique of PM's Office Minister Jakrapob Penkair's abysmal performance in his post.  It was on a subsequent reading that I grasped the true gravitas of your writings and I gained a somewhat deeper insight.

 The first part of your editorial was merely a light aperitif to sharpen the reader's appetite for what was to come, it was almost a distraction and in no way prepared the reader for what was to follow; and what came was indeed a bombe surprise.  While not revealing anything new that has not been reported, you set out candidly and lucidly the sinister play that is afoot.  To use much used non-speak "an unseen hand is seeking to undermine and destroy".

However the target of this reactionary force is not an ugly duck government of second-rate individuals but the very essence of Thailand itself.  It is seeking to wantonly sweep aside centuries of tradition and history to be substituted by something like Singapore, no doubt.

You rightly observe that it has scant respect for anything other than its own greed for power and money and will do whatever it takes to achieve that goal.

However, this game appears to have been exposed by the inept behaviour of Jakrapob, so damage limitation will be required and we can expect to see distance being put between him and those who wish to play a longer and shrewder game.

John de Laurent

Bangkok

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All the news that could have been used in August

Without getting into the details of the charges against PM's Office Minister Jakrapob Penkair, which are no doubt off the list of topics of conversation anyway, I would like to point out how odd it is that he is being charged now, and that it has taken the press so long to discover that this talk took place when it was given in August.

Both English-language newspapers share more blame than their peers for this oversight, but what's going on here? Why are we hearing about all of this now? He didn't exactly give the speech in his living room to a room full of deaf people; he gave it at the Foreign Correspondent's Club! Surely there was someone from one of the newspapers in that audience. It was during a not-exactly-uncontroversial time in Thai politics. YouTube videos of the speech have been online for months.

I look forward to hearing about what is going on now in the Autumn.

BF

Bangkok

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Proposed ban of gays from medical school bigoted

I spluttered into my coffee this morning when I read about the Higher Education Commission discussing the banning of the third sex and openly gay men (versus what, gay men who hide their true selves and remain in the closet, marrying innocent women for cover?) from medical school. 

Are they not people? Are they not capable? Are we living in the dark ages?

A kathoey doctor, lesbian doctor or a doctor in a wheelchair is still a doctor.

Shame on all bigots. 

Pim Kemasingki

Bangkok

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China outdoing US in domestic disaster relief

As an American, I have seen photo after photo, read story after story, of the massive effort the Chinese have put into providing relief and helping people affected by the recent earthquake. One is particularly prominent point is the presence of tens of thousands of soldiers.

Compare this to what Bush managed when Katrina devastated the American Gulf Coast. Very few soldiers were visible. Why is that? Because Bush had appropriated the state national guard units from all over the US to generate profits for his friends in the war industry in Iraq and Afghanistan, and to die and be maimed, rather than helping their fellow citizens.

What was visible in many photographs in places like New Orleans was the presence of heavily armed mercenaries from Blackwater, the managers of the neocons' private army.

How utterly damaged the US has become under the Bush scourge such that a developing country like China can provide better for its citizens than the erstwhile "First World" and only remaining superpower, the US.

One can only hope that the US November elections this year will flush the Republicans out of office at the state and federal levels so the US can once again operate for the benefit of its citizens, not for the wealthy who see us all as something to exploit.

The US has gone in seven short years from a symbol of hope to the embodiment of hopelessness.

An American abroad

Bangkok